10 Best Ways to Get Creative With Brownie Recipes

Not that there's anything wrong with a pan of simple, straightforward homemade brownies, but sometime you just want to go beyond basic. We definitely second that emotion, and offer up 10 of our most creative, over-the-top brownies. Some are made from scratch and some get kickstarted with a box of brownie mix. Either way, these brownies are oh so extra.

Start with a box of brownie mix (or make your own brownies from scratch), then go to town with popcorn, peanuts, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips over the top. But that's not all—you'll drizzle homemade caramel sauce over the whole thing before baking.

"Super easy for a potluck dish," says Jenina 'Sutton" Halitsky. She adds, "I used caramel chips instead of making the caramel syrup. Everyone loved this recipe."

Homemade brownie dough gets swirled with a creamy cheesecake layer. Allrecipes home cook dpink13 raves, "This is an excellent recipe! They were excellent warm, and they were just as good the next day. They have the perfect mixture of the sharp cheesecake taste and the sweet brownie taste in a soft, smooth texture."

Another winning combo of brownie and cheesecake, with a red velvet vibe. You might want to save this one in your recipe box for Valentine's Day.

Try these top tips from home cook squeeziebrb: "Don't use reduced fat or fat free cream cheese. After you have made the swirls, and before you put in oven, VERY gently tap the pan on the counter to remove some bubbles that may have formed when swirling."

A brownie/crispy rice/marshmallow mash-up! Can you take this much decadence? Maybe you should share. Tiffany did, and says, "This is the second year I've made these to pass out to friends and neighbors during the holidays and I always get such great compliments on them. They are so gooey and delicious, and the crunch from the rice crispy puts it over the top!"

Her top tips: "Under bake by a few minutes so that when you put the marshmallows on top and continue cooking, the brownies won't get too done by the end. Cover the entire brownie mix with the marshmallows because once they're baked you don't want to try and spread or smear them or you'll just get a mess. Really let it cool before pouring the chocolate/peanut butter topping on so the marshmallows won't smear off. Such a good recipe!"

Homemade brownies are heavenly all on their own, but top them with a thick layer of homemade frosting, and you're at a whole new level.

Allrecipes home cook bellydancer says, "I love these brownies! I have never had such fudgy brownies, or such rich, fudgy frosting. It is very important not to overbake these, or you will lose the fudgy texture. Give these a try, you won't be sorry."

kimba raves, "OMG! These were amazing!! I ended up incorporating mini chocolate chips into the batter before baking instead of on top as directed - only because I misread the recipe. Will definitely make again."

Meet your perfect fall brownie. Allrecipes home cook abapplez says, "Excellent! We love these. Followed the recipe, using canned organic pumpkin, mini chocolate chips and baked them in mini muffin tins. I used a small ice-cream scoop and just layered the two mixtures (did not swirl). The bake time was approx 23 min in my oven. At 18 minutes, I sprinkled additional mini choc chips and chopped walnuts on top and returned to the oven for the last 5 minutes."

She adds, "Perfect, delicious little bites that definitely taste like autumn. By not swirling the two batters together, I think the pumpkin flavor really came through."

A rich layer of coconut macaroon is layered between homemade chocolate brownies, and there goes your will power. Some reviewers use unsweetened coconut, and some use sweetened. What you choose to do is between you and your sweet tooth.